One conventional way of reducing drag in turbulent liquid streams involves injecting a slurry of drag reducing agents (DRAs) directly into the flowing stream. The DRA polymer particles in the slurry DRAs disperse into the flowing stream and dissolve over a period of time. The solubilized polymers in the DRA dampen the eddies associated with turbulent flow, and thereby reduces the drag. FIG. 1 shows an illustrative conventional system for reducing drag in a fluid line 10. The fluid line 10 may be a hose, pipeline, or other conduit suitable for conveying a fluid 12. A DRA source may dispense a DRA into the fluid line 10 at a location 16. After entering the flowing fluid, the DRA begins to dissolve. However, due to the time needed for the solid DRA particles to swell and dissolve in the flowing stream, the DRAs become only functionally effective as a drag reducer at a location 18 along the fluid line 10. Thus, there remains a portion between points 16 and 18 of the pipeline where the flowing stream does not see any meaningful drag reduction.
In certain aspects, the present disclosure addresses the need for more effectively adding DRAs into a fluid line. In certain other aspects, the present disclosure addresses the need for having an agent of any type be functionally effective at or near the point of treatment along the fluid line.